Despite Earlier Reports–No Middle East Cease-Fire Today

Around Noon NYC time, the reports were coming fast and furious, Israel and Hamas had agreed to a truce moderated by the Egyptian officials. The source for most of those reports was Hamas. Apparently no one asked Israel.

According to Israel’s Channel 2 reporter Ehud Yaari who spoke to sources in the Egyptian intelligence, the Israeli negotiations team rejected the draft ceasefire, and that the press conference announcing the truce, scheduled to take place at 9 p.m. has been put off indefinitely,

Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq announced on his Facebook page that an agreement over a ceasefire between Israel and the factions in Gaza has yet to be reached, adding that such a deal won’t be struck on Tuesday night. (Roi Kais)

While all this talk was going on a residential building in the central Israeli city of Rishon Lezion was directly hit by a rocket that was fired by Hamas, lightly injuring two people. The Iranian-made rocket hit the building’s top floor, causing severe damage(see video belwo). Most of the residents sought shelter upon hearing the air raid siren that sounded around 6 pm. The attack marks the first time that Hamas manages to hit a populated area in central Israel, after previous rockets that were fired towards the region were intercepted or exploded in open areas.

According to Israel’s Channel 10′s Israel is attacking terror targets in Gaza — from the north of the strip to the south — with unprecedented intensity as a response to the the attack Rishon Lezion earlier this evening described above in which it was remarkable that nobody was killed by a 90 kg. rocket that smashed through three stories of an apartment bloc — is being cited as the reason for the escalated Israeli air and sea attacks.

More later!

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